Frozen
by Mikib919
Summary: Kouri Kunshu journeys to Konoha hoping to find someone who can teach her to control her chakra and her kekkai genkai. She wasn't expecting to find anything more. DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
1. Chapter 1

Sweat gathered on her brow as the sun beat down on the road she was travelling. Even with her sparse clothing, her body was on fire underneath her skin. She knew that to most people, the weather would be favorable, but she had never been fond of warm temperatures.

Kouri cringed as she heard a rustling sound in a patch of nearby bushes, suddenly regretting her decision to travel alone. Without a doubt, she knew that she wasn't the greatest of fighters. If she was attacked, she would have little to no chance of survival. She carried no weapons, only a bag on her back holding a few changes of clothes and some money.

And she was so close to her destination. According to her map, she was just a few miles away from the gates of Konoha. Nearly tripping over her feet, she picked up her pace, hoping to make it before whoever or whatever was following her decided to strike.

Movement beside her caught her attention. She froze, her breath catching in her throat, and slowly, apprehensively, turned.

She came face to face with the sharp edge of a sword. Gripping the hilt of the blade was a large, rough hand with bandaged fingers. The face she looked up into wore a fierce snarl.

Her feet stumbled over raised tree roots as she scrambled backward, and she fell onto her back. The blow was cushioned by her pack, but it still knocked the wind out of her. The man stalked closer and held the very tip of the sword on her throat, pressing hard enough to puncture the delicate skin.

"Careful, Iwao. We don't want to damage the goods," a smooth voice warned. The big man, Iwao, scowled, but a few seconds later he stepped back. A younger man with a smooth face came to stand beside him. "She's a pretty one. Someone will pay a good price for her."

"Mikio, she's not wearing a headband, which means she's not a kunoichi. Our clients don't want her," Iwao rumbled.

"Not a kunoichi?" Mikio raised an eyebrow. "But I can feel chakra in the air around her, radiating from her every pore. Whether she knows it or not, she's a strong kunoichi. Our clients would enjoy the thrill of her untrained power. And," he added, " seeing as she has no control over her chakra, it would only make sense that she would be injured in our struggle to attain her."

Iwao's eyes lit up with bloodlust, and he raised his gleaming blade again. Also drawing a weapon, Mikio advanced.

Kouri crawled backward until her back hit the thick trunk of a tree. Her wide eyes followed the movement of the sword's blade as it swung down in an arc toward her. Once she could see her own reflection in the metal, she closed her eyes and accepted her fate. She wasn't meant to reach the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Leaf Hurricane!"

She opened her eyes as she felt a gust of wind in front of her blow her hair away from her face. She opened her eyes, and her vision was immediately assaulted by a wall of green. After a few moments, she realized that she was staring at someone's back. The person was wearing a forest green jumpsuit and was standing in front of her in a protective stance.

"You will not harm her!" he said, his voice strong.

"Are you planning to stop us?" Iwao scoffed. "A lone leaf genin like you doesn't have a chance of taking us on."

"I assure you, I do have the skills to defend her myself, but I don't have to. A genin of the Leaf never travels without a team," the man replied.

"Lee!" an exasperated female called out from the forest behind them, interrupting whatever Iwao was going to say in reply. "You can't just go running off like that! You may have endless amounts of energy, but the rest of us are tired." A young woman with her hair pulled up into two buns landed in a crouch beside Lee, quickly followed by two other men.

One of the men was nearly identical to Lee. The jumpsuit was exactly the same color, and his black hair was styled into a very similar bowl cut. He was obviously older than the rest of them. "Oh, leave him alone, Tenten. The flames of youth burn strong within him, and when there's someone in danger, he can't resist the urge to help!" The older man flashed a thumbs-up and a bright smile.

"Gai-sensei, his instinct is remarkable, but if he continues rushing into battle without assistance from his team, he will end up getting hurt, and none of us want that. We are a team, and we are supposed to fight together," the third male said.

The first thing Kouri noticed about him was his hair. It was dark brown and long, and he had it tied into a very loose ponytail. He had his headband tied around his forehead. His eyes were pale lavender in color, and they had no pupils. The veins on either side of them were sticking out harshly, and it seemed to Kouri that it should have been painful, but it didn't seem to bother him.

Iwao tried to take advantage of the team's distraction. He quietly snuck up behind Lee and raised his sword. She opened her mouth to warn the man, but there was no need.

With movements faster than her eyes could track, he turned around and gripped the wrist holding the blade. "It is very rude to attack someone when their back is turned!" Lee exclaimed. He twisted until Iwao was forced to drop his weapon and then lashed out with one leg, kicking him right in the stomach. Iwao flew backwards and collided harshly with a thick tree trunk. His head snapped back against the hard bark, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Lee turned back to his teammates and continued their argument, claiming something about youthful passion.

Mikio snarled at Lee and charged forward with his kunai raised. Before he could reach him, the long-haired male stepped between them and assumed an odd stance that Kouri had never seen before. Using only his fingers, he attacked his opponent. The hits didn't seem to cause damage, but after a few strikes, Mikio collapsed.

Kouri watched the scene unfold with wonder. After their opponents were taken down, the team continued arguing as if nothing had happened. The young woman eventually intimidated both of the men wearing green into compliance, and Lee agreed to be more cautious. She sighed as though she didn't really believe him, but dropped the topic.

Lee turned to Kouri. "Are you alright?" he inquired earnestly. When he faced her, she could see that his eyebrows were thick over his impossibly-round eyes. His face would have appeared stern if it hadn't been for the eager twinkle in his gaze.

"I'm fine," she muttered, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her pants. "Thanks for stepping in."

"It is not a problem, my friend!" She flinched back in the face of his overwhelming enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it's kind of our job," Tenten cut in. "But what were you doing walking these roads by yourself? It's dangerous for anyone who's not a ninja, and even then, it's not advisable."

"I was on my way to Konoha."

"We are on our way back there ourselves! Please, allow us to escort you the rest of the way!" Without waiting for a reply, he turned to wander back the way he'd come.

"What a wonderful idea, my youthful pupil!" Gai, the team's sensei, cried. He followed after Lee, leaving the two calmer members of the team with Kouri.

"It's nice that they offer to take you back to the village and then abandon you," Tenten commented. "Come on, we'll make sure you get there safely."

Tenten and the long-haired brunette had conversed quietly on the way back to the village, but Kouri hadn't spoken a word. She remained a few steps behind them, fiddling with the straps of her bag. She had no idea what she was going to do when she reached the village. She knew that she had to speak to the Hokage and see if she could help her with her untrained chakra, but she didn't have anywhere to go after that was done. She had a bit of money, so she might be able to find a place to stay for a few nights, but she would run out soon.

She hadn't planned far enough ahead.

"Do you have family in the village?" Tenten asked, and it took Kouri a few moments to register that the question was addressed to her.

"No," she replied shortly.

"Do you have somewhere to go when you get there?"

"I have enough money to find a place to stay."

She fell back into silence, and Tenten left her in peace. Soon, she was able to see the gates of Konoha in the distance.

There were so many buildings. The village was even larger than Kouri had imagined. People were wandering the streets, some of them wearing shinobi gear and some of them in civilian clothes. There were multiple food stands set up along the border of the streets, and children played with a ball in the street.

She knew that she had to go see the Hokage, but she had no idea where to go to find her.

"Where is the Hokage's office?" she asked.

To her surprise, it was the brunette who spoke. "It's the large red building over there," he said, pointing. "I have to go there to give a report on our latest mission, so you can follow me if you'd like." They were the first words that he had spoken directly to her.

"I'll go find those two idiots," Tenten told him. "We'll meet up at Ichiraku's?"

He nodded in affirmation, and she leapt onto a nearby rooftop. With a slight gesture, the man gestured for Kouri to follow him as he began to make his way through the streets. She trailed behind him, dodging the crowds of people.

The Hokage's building was enormous. She had been able to see it from across town, so she'd known it was big, but it was even larger than she'd expected it to be. The man led her through the large doors and up three flights of stairs.

"This is the Hokage's office," he explained, knocking on a large door.

"Come in!" a female voice full of authority commanded. "Ah, Neji. I assume the mission was a success?" Kouri's eyes took in the long, blonde ponytails, the striking hazel eyes, and the stern countenance of the woman sitting behind the cluttered desk.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Our allies have been appeased, and they are currently trying to repair the trade routes." Neji gestured to Kouri. "On our way back, we found someone who was heading this way. She was being attacked, but thanks to Lee's quick actions, she's perfectly alright. She has something to discuss with you."

Kouri stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Good afternoon, Hokage-sama. I come from the Village Hidden in the Snow."

"Yukigakure? That's quite a long way from here. What brings you to our village?"

"I heard rumors that this village is one of the best for shinobi."

The hazel eyes looked her up and down. "You don't much strike me as the fighting type."

"Well, technically, I'm not a shinobi, but apparently some of my ancestors were. Back in my home village, there was an incident, and I realized that I needed to learn how to control my chakra. My village leader fears that I may have some sort of unrealized kekkei genkai and he said this was the best place to learn about it."

"The rumors are true. Neji, can you see her chakra network?"

The veins around Neji's eyes reappeared, and he looked at Kouri. "It's true that she has an unusually high amount of chakra activity for a civilian. It's untrained and wild, but it's definitely there. It radiates all over her body."

The Hokage pursed her lips in thought. "In that case, I suppose we could find someone to help you figure out exactly what kind of power you have. But, if it is in fact a kekkei genkai, then it could be dangerous to have you walking around untrained. You said that there was an incident in your old village, and I can only assume that someone got hurt. I won't put the people of my village in harm's way." Kouri closed her eyes, preparing to hear that the Hokage wanted to lock her away, or worse, turn her away. "I know someone who could keep an eye on you. He's a jounin, and he's perfectly capable of dealing with anything that you might throw his way. I will have him summoned." She gestured to a large couch in the corner of the room. "Until he arrives, feel free to have a seat. I'm sure you're tired from your travels."

The blonde woman turned her attention back to Neji. "I expect a full report of the mission by tomorrow. You're dismissed."

Kouri took a seat on the couch nervously as Neji left the room, leaving her alone with the Hokage. She could feel the power emanating from the woman, and it was intimidating. She curled up against one of the couch's arms and tried to remain as still as possible, hoping that the woman would forget that she was there.

Apparently, her luck for the day had run out.

"So, Kouri. What clan do you hail from?"

"The Kunshu clan, Hokage-sama."

"The Kunshu clan? I've heard about them. Didn't they used to be some kind of royalty?"

"Yes, they did. That was a long time ago, though. They fell from their position when a generation was born with the kekkei genkai. Those children chose to become shinobi instead of accepting their rightful titles. The throne was passed on to another family, and they have kept their position of power since then."

"The stories don't mention what kind of kekkei genkai it was?"

"No, at least not that I've heard, and I've read all of the records of my family during that time period."

The Hokage hummed under her breath and fell into silence. Kouri made herself comfortable once again, finding herself relaxing despite her company. The Hokage's office was cool enough to soothe the fire crawling beneath her skin. As she laid there, the long days of travel finally caught up with her, and her eyes drifted shut.

She was yanked out of her light doze by a sharp knock on the door. The Hokage gave the person permission to enter. Kouri didn't open her eyes, but she listened closely, making sure to keep her breathing even.

"You summoned me, Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes, Kakashi. I have a mission for you. Do you see the girl on the couch? Her name is Kouri Kunshu. She has uncontrolled chakra and an unknown kekkei genkai. She wants our help learning about it, but until then, I want you to keep an eye on her. It's possible that she could be dangerous."

"And how exactly do you want me to do that? Spy on her? I don't think she'd appreciate that very much, especially since she's listening to every word we're saying and she would know she was being watched."

Kouri froze before hesitantly opening her eyes. She finally let her gaze land on Kakashi. His silver hair stuck straight up, defying all laws of gravity. Half of his face was concealed by a black mask, and his crooked headband hid one of his eyes, but the one eye that remained uncovered was locked on her. It held no disgust or disdain, just a slight hint of curiosity.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, I suppose that won't work." She pondered the issue for a moment, and her hazel eyes lit up. "Do you still have that spare room in your apartment?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied.

Kouri's mind caught up with what Tsunade was thinking. "Oh, no," she protested, catching their attention. "I couldn't. That's his home. I don't want to impose."

"I promise you, it's no problem," Tsunade said, glaring at Kakashi when he moved to argue. "Especially since that means he won't have any missions outside the village for a while.

"As for your training," she continued. "You will be working with a team as well as coming to meet with me after the sun goes down. Physical activity may be able to help your chakra levels stay balanced, and when your body's in shape, it's easier to control. I think it'd be best for you to work with Team Gai, considering Gai is a taijutsu expert and is most qualified to help in your physical training. Kakashi can show you where they meet tomorrow."

She crossed her hands and fingers in front of her and rested her chin on them. "I think that's all we need to discuss right now. Tomorrow, your training will begin. You better make sure you get some rest. Dismissed!"

With a sigh, Kakashi motioned for Kouri to follow him as he left the building. As soon as they stepped outside, a wave of heat hit her, and perspiration gathered on her brow. She wiped it away, hoping that the silver-haired jounin didn't notice the motion, especially since he appeared to be perfectly fine. If he saw it, he didn't comment on it.

They travelled through the town in silence. Occasionally, Kouri would sneak glances at the man beside her. He walked with a book held in front of his face. Her eyes landed on the words "Icha Icha" that decorated the cover.

"You read pornography while out in public?" she blurted out, unable to contain her bewilderment.

"It's not pornography," he responded easily, as though it was something he had to explain often. "It's romantic literature."

"I've seen one of those books before, and I don't think I'd classify it as literature," she scoffed.

He raised his visible eyebrow at her. "I'm pretty sure underage people aren't allowed to purchase these. Where did you see it?"

Kouri laughed, glad that the man was the type to participate in conversation. Many of the shinobi she'd met had been stern and silent. "I had a neighbor break his leg back in my village. He asked me to go out and get the newest issue for him while he was unable to leave his bookkeeper know of my family and didn't bother questioning it, and curiosity got the best of me when I was heading back to his house." She shuddered. "I'm pretty sure it scarred me for life."

He laughed quietly. "You just don't know how to appreciate art."

They fell back into silence, but this time it was comfortable. There was no tension between them.

Finally, he turned to go up a staircase. Kouri looked up, and her eyes landed on a standard apartment complex. All of the doors looked the same, and she made sure to look at the number on the one that Kakashi stopped in front of so that she didn't accidentally walk into the wrong one.

"Welcome to your new home," Kakashi announced as he pushed the door open.

Kouri stepped inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi's apartment was exactly what she'd expected a shinobi's home to look like. The furniture was plain and the walls were white and bare. Everything was in its place. Beside the door was a hook, where Kakashi hung his weapons as he entered the apartment behind her.

He took the lead and guided her down the hallway, gesturing to the various doors they passed and telling her what was beyond them. Coming to a complete halt, he opened one of the doors. "This is going to be your bedroom," he explained. "It's a bit plain right now, but feel free to decorate it however you want. The room right next door is my room. If you need anything, you can find me there, but I advise you to knock first. There are a few booby traps that are easy to trigger if you don't know they're there. As for the rules of the house, there really aren't many. Don't bring any strangers home and clean up after yourself. That's pretty much it. Now, you should probably get some rest. If I know Gai, he'll have you training hard tomorrow, and then you'll be working with Tsunade after that. You'll need your strength."

He left her alone. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. The bed didn't look like much, but when she laid down on it, she found that it was soft and comfortable. It was warm in the room, so she didn't bother getting under the covers before closing her eyes. She knew she would only end up kicking them off in her sleep.

 _Her feet sunk into the snow. Around her, people bundled up in large jackets hurried to their destinations. She was clad in just her shirt and a relatively thin pair of pants, but the cold didn't seem to be affecting her like it was everyone else. She was in no hurry to get home, as she knew that her parents would most likely be there to scold her for not wearing her jacket._

 _It wasn't her fault that it made her too hot._

 _Other children her age were wandering around the town with their parents at their sides, but she was alone. It wasn't because her parents didn't want to join her, but because they couldn't. When Kouri was four, her mother had been diagnosed with a degenerative illness that had weakened the bones in her legs, and she was no longer able to leave her bed without assistance, and her father had to stay there with her in case she needed anything. She didn't mind it, though; she understood their reasons, and she'd grown used to going into the town on her own. She'd been doing it for six years._

 _She looked off into the distance and saw a crowd of people gliding over one of the small ponds that was just outside the village. With a smile on her face, she hurried over to join them._

 _When she got to the edge of the pond, though, she stood on the edge uncertainly. The ice was cloudy and white. Her parents had always warned her about the dangers of skating on thin ice. She looked out at the crowd. There were a few adults, but for the most part, the children were skating while the parents remained on the snow banks to watch._

 _Kouri dropped her skates onto the snow and sat down as she deliberated. After a few minutes, she figured that if the other children weren't falling through into the cold water below, then she wouldn't, either. Before she could get her skates on, though, she heard a distinct crack. At first, she thought she'd imagined it, but when she looked up, she saw the looks of horror on the faces of the parents on the sidelines as they watched their kids freeze in place._

 _The smallest girl on the ice couldn't have been older than three. She came to a halt on the slick surface and slowly, fearfully, looked down. The ice had begun to split beneath her feet. "Momma?" she called out meekly._

 _One of the older women standing in the snow clenched her hands over her heart. "Ani? Don't move, honey," she shouted, her voice trembling. "Just stay very still."_

 _All of the other children had stopped skating._

 _The ice cracked even more and started to shift beneath the feet of the skaters. A pool of freezing water revealed itself right beneath Ani's shaking form._

 _Without thinking, Kouri stepped out onto the ice, her arm outstretched toward the terrified little girl._

A knock sounded on the door, and she jolted up out of bed. A layer of sweat covered her body, soaking through her clothes. The air in the room had grown even warmer during the night, and she saw that her skin was flushed red because of the heat.

"Kouri? I know it's early, but Gai starts training before the sun comes up, so you should start getting ready now."

She waited until she heard his footsteps retreating down the hallway before getting up off the soft mattress. Grabbing one of the few spare changes of clothes she had in her backpack, she crept down the hallway to the shower. Turning the water on as cold as it would go, she stepped under the spray and sighed with relief as it soaked her skin.

When she got out of the shower, Kakashi was waiting for her in the kitchen. He handed her a ration bar as she approached. At the disgusted look in her eye, he shrugged sheepishly. "This is pretty much all I eat. This and take out food."

She opened the bar and took a bite. It tasted like someone had covered a piece of cardboard with peanut butter and chocolate and put it in a wrapper. She choked it down to fill her stomach, trying to ignore the taste and texture.

Once she finished and threw the wrapper away, Kakashi led her out the door. He was wearing his jounin gear. She felt strange walking next to him wearing nothing but a layer of fishnets beneath a pair of almost-inappropriately short shorts and a tank top cut to show her midriff. She had planned to bring different clothing, but she didn't have enough room in her bag and she knew that she was likely to get hot while she was travelling, so she packed what she felt most comfortable in.

She knew that she was getting disapproving looks from the people they passed, but she was so nervous about her first day of training that she couldn't bring herself to care.

They followed a path through the woods to a large clearing. Kouri saw that the people who had saved her the day before were already gathered in the center.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival! I see you have brought my new pupil!" Gai, who was still wearing his horrendously green jumpsuit, turned his attention to Kouri. "It is nice to see that you made it back to the village safely. It was so kind of my progeny to offer to escort you! That Lee is always so eager to help someone in need." Kouri exchanged a look with Kakashi and took a small, subtle step away from Gai's passionate ranting.

"I will leave you here in Gai's capable hands," Kakashi said to Kouri. He was obviously eager to escape the man's presence before he could be missed. "I'll be home before you get back from training." He vanished in a cloud of smoke. Gai didn't appear to notice.

Tenten inched around her sensei to stand by Kouri's side. "So you're older than us, right?"

"Yes," she replied.

"I thought so. But you've never had proper training before, right?"

"I've taken all of the classes they require in the academy, but I've never done any field training."

"So this is mostly physical training," the girl stated. "We don't need to go over any of the book stuff." With a hand on her chin, she began to circle around Kouri. "Do you exercise? You seem to be in pretty good shape."

"Um, I run a lot, just to keep myself busy. There's not much else to do back in my old village. But I was never really fond of muscle training."

"Well the, that is what we shall focus on for the time being!" Gai exclaimed. At some point, he had finished his monologue about his pride in Lee and come to listen in on their conversation. "Let us start with two hundred pushups!"

Lee, who had been listening to his sensei's praise with tears streaming down his face, immediately dropped to the ground. "Yes, Gai-sensei! And if I cannot do these pushups one-handed, then I will run twenty laps around the village on my hands!"

Kouri lowered herself to the ground slowly, eyes wide as she watched Lee commence his exercise.

"They're always like this," Tenten said as she started her own pushups. "You'll get used to it eventually."

The others seemed to have no problem using their arms to push themselves up off the ground, but Kouri had barely done twenty of the two hundred repetitions when her arms began to burn. By thirty, they were shaking with the effort of supporting her weight. She could feel her body growing even hotter as she struggled to complete her task. After she counted forty-nine, she collapsed onto the ground and rolled onto her back.

"Are you alright?" Neji asked. His voice was barely loud enough for her to hear over her own panting breaths.

"Oh, I'm good," she answered. "Just taking a short break. Enjoying the sunshine."

Tenten huffed out a laugh. "Imagine doing this every day."

Kouri waited until she could feel her arms again before resuming her exercise. She had to take constant breaks, and by the time she was almost done, everyone was watching her and cheering her on. Tenten counted out the last five with her and cheered loudly while Kouri dropped to the ground. She knew she was sweating disgustingly in the heat of the day, and she tried her best to wipe the worst of the perspiration from her face.

"Alright! Let's move onto the legs! One thousand squats!"

Kouri groaned.


	3. Chapter 3

Her entire body ached. With every step, her thighs burned, and her knees threatened to give out beneath her. She knew her face was still red and sweating, but she was too exhausted to care. She just wanted to go back to Kakashi's house and take a long, cold shower.

But she couldn't. She was slowly making her way to the Hokage's tower for her afternoon training with Lady Tsunade. She hoped the Hokage's methods were nothing like Gai-sensei's. She didn't know if she could handle anymore physical strain.

The Hokage was waiting for her outside when she arrived. "You're late," she scolded, but she didn't appear angry. Instead, there was a smirk on her face, as though she'd known. "I assume your first day of training with Gai went as expected."

Kouri was too tired to glare properly.

The Hokage chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll take it easy on you until you build up your strength. Now follow me and we'll get started."

Lady Tsunade escorted Kouri to a large clearing in the forest. It looked like a well-used training ground, yet it was completely empty. The blonde woman came to a stop in the center and turned to face Kouri. "Today, we will simply be trying to figure out what your kekkai genkai is." She pulled a thin sheet of paper out of her pocket. "Do you know what this is?"

"Paper."

The Hokage rolled her eyes. "It's not just ordinary paper."

"But it is paper."

"Yes," she sighed. "It's paper. But it is chakra paper. It will sense the nature of your chakra when you touch it, at least if you gather a bit of chakra into your fingers. I would like for you to do that, please."

Kouri had been taught the basics of chakra control, but it took all of her focus to gather some of her chakra in her fingertips. Lady Tsunade held out the paper, and with her brows furrowed in concentration, Kouri reached out. As soon as her fingers came into contact with the paper, it became so damp that it fell from the Hokage's fingers and fell to the ground.

Lady Tsunade crouched and poked at the pile of mush with her fingers. "It would seem that your chakra nature is water. I think it's safe to say it's pretty strongly water natured." She rose to her feet. "That is good to know. Now, you said something about a kekkai genkai. Do you have any other information about that?"

Kouri looked down at her feet. "My kekkai genkai allows me to control ice. I'm not sure the extent of its power, because all of the times I've inadvertantly used it, I've blacked out. I can't remember anything, and the villagers back home were always to afraid to look at me, let alone speak to me. I'm sorry I can't provide any more information to you." Her voice was trembling and it grew quieter and quieter with every word until she was almost inaudible.

The Hokage sensed the girl's distress. "It's perfectly alright. It just gives me a reason to observe it firsthand."

Kouri's gaze shot up to the woman so fast that her neck popped. "No!" she stated firmly.

"And why not?"

"Because it's too dangerous," the younger woman said in a much more controlled voice. "I do not know how to activate it. It happens only when I am in distress. And even if I could activate it on my own, I would not do so. I can't control it, and there must've been a reason the villagers feared me. I don't think it's a wise idea."

"Kouri, why do you think I am Hokage?"

"I don't know."

"I am Hokage because I am an incredibly strong kunoichi. Not only that, but I am also very smart. I believe that I can contain your kekkai genkai no matter what it is. I wouldn't ask you to do it if I thought you posed any danger to me and my village."

Kouri didn't say anything else, and she refused to meet Lady Tsunade's eyes.

The blonde sighed. "Would it make you feel better if I had someone here who could stop you?"

"Yes, but no one has ever gotten close to me while I was in that state. I don't think it's possible."

"And if this someone was able to contain you from a distance?"

Kouri hesitated with her answer. "Then I suppose I would be willing to try. But are you sure this person would be able to handle it?"

A loud laugh sounded, echoing through the clearing. "I'm positive. Now, go home for the night. Get some rest. Tomorrow, after your training with Gai, come straight here to this clearing. I'll meet you here, along with my friend."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

The Hokage leapt into the trees, leaving Kouri to make her way back to Kakashi's house alone.

The next morning during her training with Gai and his team, Kouri was quiet. Her muscles were still sore from the previous day, and each move she made sent pain soaring through her entire body, but she didn't complain. While Lee and Gai did their own extreme exercises, Tenten and Neji watched Kouri with concern.

After her three hundred pushups, Kouri wordlessly transitioned to squats, and then to whatever Gai told her to do next. She refused to look anyone in the eye. All she could think about was her training with Tsunade later that day.

She was terrified.

Before she left the team to meet with the Hokage, Tenten put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "Are you alright, Kouri? You seem a bit absent today."

"I'm fine," Kouri replied, yanking her shoulder away so that the kunoichi wouldn't feel how tense she was. "Just tired. I'll see you all tomorrow."

As she made her way to the clearing to meet Tsunade, a thought occured to her. She could simply leave. No one in the village would come after her: she'd only been there for two days. No one cared enough. She could go home if she wanted to: she didn't want to, but it was one of many options. Her clan had never officially banished her, and they wouldn't as long as the villagers didn't riot.

She paused at the edge of the clearing. This was her last chance to run.

As she watched, a young man leisurely strolled into the clearing. He paused, looked around, and then groaned as he realized no one was there. "Typical," she heard him mutter irritatedly as he sat down with his back against a tree.

She quickly made her decision. Taking a deep breath, she turned on the branch she was balanced on, ready to race away from the Leaf Village.

With a yelp, she tumbled backwards, losing her balance and falling to the ground. The Hokage, whom Kouri had come face to face with when she turned, leapt gracefully down after her and glared at her fiercely with her hands on her hips. "Were you thinking about leaving? Without telling me? Because that would've just been rude."

Averting her eyes, Kouri remained silent. The Hokage sighed. "No matter. We're all here now, so why don't we get started." She gestured to the young man, who now appeared to be sleeping against the tree. "This is Nara Shikamaru. He is the one I was telling you about yesterday. Shikamaru?"

There was no response.

"WAKE UP SHIKAMARU! YOU'RE NOT GETTING PAID TO NAP!"

"I'm not getting paid at all," Shikamaru responded with a yawn. "I volunteered to do this. I don't know why, though. It's such a drag."

"You always say that, and yet you continue to offer your assistance to me and this village."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now what am I doing here?"

"We're helping this young lady with her kekkai genkai."

"And why do you need me?"

"Because we don't know what it does, and we might need that jutsu of yours if something goes wrong."

"What?" His brows furrowed, and he gazed at Kouri contemplatively. "How do you not know what your kekkai genkai is? Didn't your clan teach you all about it?"

"If they'd taught me all about it, would I be here?" she responded snappily. "No one else in my clan has the kekkai genkai, at least no one living. And there's nothing written about it because our ancestors liked to pretend it didn't exist. They always hated that one thing that took their royal status away from them." Her tone took on a bitter note.

"If you'd researched this morning like I told you to instead of sleeping, you would've been able to figure that out," Lady Tsunade pointed out with a stern glare. "But now you know, so can we get on with this, please?"

They stood in silence for a few minutes while Kouri concentrated.

"Well?" Shikamaru droned.

"I'm trying, Lady Tsunade, I really am. But I don't even know what I'm supposed to be trying to do. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. We'll just have to try another method."

Something collided with the back of Kouri's head before she could question the Hokage. Dazed, she turned around. All she caught was a glimpse of silver hair before something flew towards her face. Before it connected, her vision went black.


	4. Chapter 4

"Shadow possession jutsu complete."

Kouri's eyes opened slowly. Her head was throbbing, her body was more sore than it had been even after training with Gai, and her muscles were completely unresponsive to her commands. Without her authorization, her body slowly got to its feet. The movement made her head spin and her stomach churn uncomfortably.

As she looked around the clearing, the sick feeling became even worse. Trees were completely encased in clear, solid ice. The ground was frosted over, and she could see flakes of white in Tsunade's and Shikamaru's hair. The Nara was panting, and she noticed that his stance was identical to hers. She could hear movement behind her, but she couldn't turn her head to see what it was.

"What happened?" she demanded shakily.

Lady Tsunade took a deep breath. "I would like to apologize for my methods. You told me that it's only activated when you are in distress, and I knew it might be the only way to figure out what your kekkai genkai truly was. I had Kakashi waiting in the trees to attack when you weren't expecting it. He wasn't to hurt you, only startle you into revealing your abilities."

"You couldn't have found another way?" Kouri snapped. Her head was still aching from where she'd been struck, and now the entire clearing looked like it belonged in the Village Hidden in the Snow. At least she now knew at least one thing about her kekkai genkai though.

"Again, I'm very sorry, but we needed to see what your kekkai genkai was so that we could have a chance of helping you. There was no time to find another way."

"I'm sorry, Kouri," Kakashi's voice came from behind her. "I didn't agree with her, but I had no choice. Did I hurt you?"

With a deep breath, Kouri managed to calm herself slightly. "Nothing permanent, Kakashi. I understand that you had no choice but to be a part of this." She glared icily at the Hokage, who simply folded her arms over her chest.

"Well, it worked, didn't it? Now we know what your kekkai genkai does." The blonde gestured to the clearing around her. "As you can see, it involves manipulating ice. But what I don't understand is how you did so much while barely expending any of your chakra."

"I have a theory about that." Kakashi moved toward the other two shinobi, and Kouri saw that the headband he usually kept over his left eye had been lifted, revealing a bright red iris. "It appears that the chakra at her core is frozen, and small tendrils of it move throughout her system. But it never actually leaves her body. Instead, the ice follows her movements, as though her chakra is merely a tool to shape the ice instead of being required to power it. Not all of her chakra is frozen, though: the non-frozen chakra helps the frozen chakra circulate."

"Why would it do that?" Tsunade asked.

"Since the chakra is not leaving her body, it could cause irreparable damage if it were to remain stagnant. I'm not sure what kind of damage, and I don't think any of us want to find out." He lowered his headband to cover his strange eye.

"This is very unusual," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. His head tilted thoughfully, and Kouri's head moved in the same direction. "I don't think I've ever heard of a kekkai genkai like this."

"Neither have I," Kakashi stated, and the Hokage agreed. "It could be very useful, seeing as while an enemy's chakra would run low, hers never would. And because she does have so much chakra that her kekkai genkai doesn't use, she could learn a secondary element, like wind, to make herself even stronger."

"It could also be very dangerous," the Hokage countered. "If she were to ever lose control of it and Shikamaru or his father weren't around, it could spell disaster for the village. All of our forces would faint of chakra exhaustion before we could bring her down."

"Excuse me, but I am still here, you know," Kouri butted in, annoyed. "And why do you think I'm here, Lady Hokage? I would like to learn how to control it, so that I wouldn't be a danger to anyone. I had to leave my village because of their fear. I don't want to give anyone else a reason to be afraid of me. Now, if you're unable or unwilling to help me because of the danger, just tell me now. I will leave and find someone else."

"Calm down," Shikamaru grunted. "I didn't hear her say anything about not helping you."

Lady Tsunade grinned. "He's right. I'm actually looking forward to this. But I do have a question for you."

Kouri attempted to raise an eyebrow, but couldn't.

"After we help you, will you go back home to Yukigakure? Or would you stay here in Konoha?"

Kouri pondered the question for a moment. "I suppose, if it was alright with you, I would stay here. The damage in my home village has already been done. No one there would trust me even if I was in control. Here, at least, I would have a clean slate."

"To be honest, I was hoping that would be your answer." A large smile crossed the Hokage's face. "I believe we are done here for the night. Kouri, tomorrow morning, skip your training with Gai. I will have Shikamaru meet you at Kakashi's house and take you to spend some time with his team. Asuma-sensei will help you with meditation, which I believe could be essential in becoming aware while using your kekkai genkai. And, if that fails, Ino Yamanaka might be able to figure out why."

Another groan escaped Shikamaru.

"Suffer in silence, Nara Shikamaru," Lady Tsunade snapped. "No one wants to hear your whining. Now, release the jutsu. I think by now the adrenaline has left her system. She is in complete control."

As Kouri watched, a shadow beneath her slid along the ground toward Shikamaru, and suddenly, she could feel her limbs again. Unfortunately, when Shikamaru's apparent support left her, so did her ability to stand. Her body was too tired to remain upright, and she collapsed into a heap on the ground. Immediately, the silver-haired jounin came to her assistance. With one of her arms around his tall shoulder, he helped her stand again. He had to crouch slightly to be closer to her height, but he didn't complain.

"Maybe a day off from Gai's training is what you need, yeah?" he said. "I'll be escorting her home now. See you guys later." With Kouri hanging from his side, he leapt into the trees.

Once they were a decent distance from the training ground, he slowed their pace. "Kouri," he began. "I don't want you to take any offense to this, because I'm saying this as a shinobi who knows the basics of human health. You need to gain some weight."

"What do you mean?"

"You're very, very light. And I know I've got the strength of a shinobi, but you feel as light as a feather, and that's not good. From what I can tell, you've got no muscle on your bones. That's going to make your shinobi training very difficult."

"Well, thanks for the warning."

He sighed frustratedly under his mask. "I'm serious. If you're not eating right, your body will not be able to handle the rigorous way of a kunoichi. It will give out. Be honest with me, what have you eaten since that ration bar yesterday morning?"

Kouri looked down at the ground and didn't respond. "That's exactly what I thought. When we get home, I'm making some dinner, and we're going to eat together." His one visible eye squinted shut as he grinned. "After all, my mission is to make sure you're not a danger to anyone, and that includes yourself."

True to his word, as soon as they reached Kakashi's apartment, he cooked a full, nutritious meal for the both of them. Where he got the ingredients, Kouri didnt ask, although when she'd checked all of the cupboards had been completely empty. They ate together on the couch, and he even lowered his mask so he could eat. She didn't stare, because she knew it might make him uncomfortable, but she could see that he was just an average looking man, if not just a bit handsome. She wondered why he bothered with a mask, but didn't dare to ask. Instead, she finished her meal in silence and cleaned up the kitchen before going to bed.


End file.
